Date: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 08:16:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Gerald Levy <glevy-AT-pratt.edu>
Subject: M-TH: Re: Ecology and the American Indian


boddhisatva wrote:


> I pointed out that things like plowing and fishing with nets require
> cooperation and division and specialization of labor.  She ended up saying
> "Who says gathering food at the shoreline is any less effective than
> fishing with nets?".  How do you reply to such a thing?  Do you say "I
> don't know,... everybody?". 

Not everybody. 

It depends on the availability of food long a shoreline and in the water
at low tide. Shorelines can hold a really tremendous quantity and variety
of food which can be harvested very easily, including (but not limited to)
mussels, oysters, clams, seaweed. In most cases the technologies required
for these operations can be very primitive (e.g. a knife; a clam rake --
actually, one can even use one's feet instead of a clam rake). Of course,
pollution and overharvesting, especially in the 20th century, have really
hurt this source of food (which still in many areas, including in US
coastal areas, is sometimes used by working-class families to supplement
their diet at no monetary cost).

So what makes fishing with nets more "effective"? I don't think it is --
in general. For one thing, it's not as reliable (as many in the fishing
industry know well). E.g. on any given day, you can go down to an
(unpolluted) shoreline and gather food. On the other hand, the weather
conditions and the unpredictability of the fish may mean that one comes
back from a day's fishing with empty nets (of course, there is
overharvesting of fish and pollution affecting yields as well). Of course,
some cultures may prefer fish over mollusks, etc. in their diet, but that
is another story.

Returning to the original theme, the Pequots and Mohegans were easily able
to fulfill their food needs with the ready availability of oysters and
clams and there is quite a bit of anthropological evidence that they did
just that.

Jerry



     --- from list marxism-thaxis-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---